Fireworks
by Winter Sleep
Summary: There was a certain something about watching the fireworks with friends that made everyone feel so much closer. Through the pangs of nostalgia, Nicholas finds a home away from home.  Oneshot drabble featuring OC Nicholas from Let Me See Your Eyes.


(A/N: This is a little oneshot drabble featuring Nicholas (one of my favourite TF2 OC's) from 'Let Me See Your Eyes' by koalasss. Don't worry, I got her permission to use him. =) I very much encourage reading her fic before this.

I think chronologically, this happens somewhere around after the first section of chapter 7)

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><p><strong><span>Title<span>: Fireworks**

Like an impulsive artist sending paintbrush to canvas, a white line sliced the midnight sky in two.

It trailed upwards, confidently reaching for the glimmering stars, a loud screech of a battlecry piercing the silence. Everyone observed the tail of smoke and sparks with hands clapped over their ears, and with mouths and eyes wide open in child-like anticipation for what about about to follow. A wooden splint was left forgotten upon the dew-tipped grass, its flame flickering out; Nicholas having dropped it to cover his own ears. With a cheeky glance towards the taller male at his side, he gave a small, apologetic shrug of his shoulders.

**Boom!**

A surge of colour and light filled the night sky but he had been too slow to catch a proper glimpse before it died out and faded, leaving nothing but a ghost of grey smoke. With a disappointed sigh, the smallest member of the team bent over to rummage about an opened wooden crate. Fireworks, sparklers, rockets - of all shapes and sizes - all at his fingertips. From behind his long bangs, his eyes were wide with an excitement akin to that of a child during Christmas. They even had the big ones that went further and exploded with colour! Much better than the painfully loud ones that simply popped white sparks. He picked one up. The weight of the cheap one-pop-fireworks was painfully nostalgic as he held them in his hands.

'If Brother could see this,' he thought with a sad smile. '_He _would explode like a firework.'

"You o'roight, Nick?" the familiar Australian accent slipped into his ear, causing him to jump.

"Sniper!" he snapped at the man as he clutched at his heart. "Don't startle me like that."

The taller man couldn't help but laugh as he was scolded, chuckling softly under his breath. "Apologies, mate," he smiled, wiping at tear from the corner of his eye, his aviator glasses lifting ever so slightly. For a moment, those cool blue eyes made contact with Nicolas', and even though Sniper hadn't seen his past the bangs, it sent a jolt to the boy's already thumping heart.

"It's- It's fine!" he seemed to gasp, snapping his head away and back towards the crate.

"Will the two LOVEBIRDS over there kindly stop with the shameless PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION!" Soldier's hoarse voice was the second thing to break the silence that night. "I believe I gave you a JOB TO DO, PRIVATE!" he pointed an accusing finger at Nicholas.

"Sir, yes, sir!" he cried out instinctively with a rigid salute (Soldier smiled proudly at this) before grabbing five more fireworks from the crate. Hastily, he piled them up into his arms before sprinting down the slope of the hill, almost falling over as he did so but still managing to keep his balance. He could cover it up as enthusiasm for the firework show, but he was actually trying to get as far away as possible from the Australian.

"You see that, ankle-biter? That there is a REAL SOLDIER!" even though it wasn't directed at him, Soldier's voice was still clear as day as he berated Scout on his lack of discipline and how he should follow Nick's example. There were several irritated retorts and 'okay fine!'s from the Bostonian, his voice growing softer as Nicholas descended down the hill.

'No, please, he just started to not hate me,' he thought as he began to drive long, narrow pipes into the earth. With a small huff, he managed to get three securely embedded to the ground before sliding in the long sticks attached to the fireworks. From afar, he could feel Pyro watching him with interest. Soldier had told the firebug that he couldn't be trusted with the fireworks until he learned how to properly light them and that Nicholas - with his Chinese heritage - had to be the one to demonstrate. Even despite him retorting that his family hadn't been rich enough to buy that many fireworks, he was still the one with the most experience in the lighting process. He rolled his eyes as he lit a match, swiftly running it over the three exposed wicks. Upon hearing the characteristic fizz, he ran in the opposite direction.

**Pew! Pew! Pew!**

There was a chorus of "oh"s and "ah"s as they shot across the sky. Nicholas smiled at the bright explosions that followed, a boyish triumph welling in his chest at the fact that he was the one who lit them. If only the battlefield was this fun, he mused with a grin. Then, it wouldn't be so scary.

"Hello, Nick."

"Would you stop snea-" his rant was cut-off as his gaze fell upon a familiar face, but it hadn't been the one he was expecting. "_Jared_?" the whisper was full of disbelief and a hint of fear and he found himself taking a step back, his eyes searching the other male for his menacing sword.

"Do not fret, _chica_," Jared smirked knowingly. Nicholas' stomach churned and he gave a chaste glance over his shoulder; his team had noticed the additional presence but had been too far away to hear him. He let out the breath he was holding just as Jared continued, "I'm just here to enjoy the show, is all."

"Go away," Nicholas hissed in the most intimidating tone he could muster, his hands curling up into tight fists. "You're not welcomed here."

"So cold," he placed a hand over his heart as if it hurt. Nick scoffed at this. "Shunning away your brother? Your _hermano_? You know how I _loved_playing with fireworks with you two long ago." Jared's hand came up to touch his shoulder but it was stopped as another grabbed his wrist.

"Snipes," Nicholas murmured at the sudden appearance of the taller man.

"Look, I dunno much about your history," the Australian began, addressing the both of them before glaring at Jared. "But I'm sure you can watch 'em fireworks without leavin' your base, now, can you?"

"Got your hound-dog on me, I see," Jared smirked before giving a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted." He jerked his hand out of Sniper's grip, 'accidentally' hitting Nicholas' head as he did so. His grin widened at the tiny squeak and how Sniper's attention immediately shifted over to him. "Fetch, dingo," he managed to shoot the insult his way as he walked back towards the BLU base.

"I dunno much about siblings, either, but I'm pretty sure dat's not how ya treat 'em," Nicholas could hear Sniper mutter under his breath, the bitterness clear in his voice.

"_Herr_ Sniper! _Junge_! Are you both alright?" Medic's voice drifted over along with a cool breeze and the soft whisperings of the longgrass around their feet filled the air. The taller male lifted a thumbs-up to the doctor in the distance before turning back to boy.

"Ya know, you don't have to light them any more," he said, his eyebrows knitted in what Nicholas assumed was worry. "Pyro looks like 'e wants to try, anyway." He gave a jerk over his shoulder to the firebug and Nick smiled when he saw the masked mercenary making its way down the slope. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was skipping.

"Yeah," he agreed softly. "I think I'd like to rest for awhile."

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><p>One crate of fireworks and another of Blu Streak Beer (mostly downed by Demoman) later, everyone was sitting around a makeshift campfire of planks, twigs and the no-longer-useful-crates. The crackling fire and the soft song of crickets filled the silence between slow, soothing guitar solos, courtesy of Engineer. The sharp scent of sulphur hung in the air, along with that certain smokey mist that hid between the grass blades after a firework show. Nicholas smiled as he took it all in: the stillness of the night, the softness of the grass and the warmth of the fire.<p>

"Aye, Nicky-boy," Demoman slurred and hiccoughed, waving about his half-filled bottle. "Teach'us how yer cheers."

The boy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ya nooouuu~" the Scottish man continued to blubber before swinging his drink and thrusting his arm out boldly. "**CHEERS!**" the man's echo resounded throughout the clearing.

"Oh, that."

"Yahh! Teach'us so we do it ol' together," the one-eyed man nodded enthusiastically. "Wot do we hafta seyy?"

"Well, you say 'yam seng' and you stretch on the 'yam' for as long as you can," Nicholas explained. "Then you say 'seng' really loudly."

"Ya herd de laddie, boys!"

With that, everyone reached for their beers. There was a chorus of 'clink's as their bottles rubbed off against a nearby rock or each other. Nicholas was somewhat embarrassed that he didn't have a drink himself; he still hated the taste of it, much to Sniper's amusement. Speaking of which, the man was nudging him with something. Curiously, he glanced over at him, blinking as he was handed a glass bottle. "But I don't like beer," he retorted softly.

"S'not beer, mate," was the simple reply and the boy lifted the neck of the bottle to his nose cautiously, giving it a small sniff. Soda, Nick mused as the sudden sweetness filled his nostrils.

"Thanks."

"Your welcomed."

"All'reddy, lads!" Demoman bellowed, calling for everyone's attention. Shakily, he pushed himself to his feet, holding his beer close to his chest as if he was about to take an oath. "Oneeee... Twooo..." He swung it out and everyone joined in.

_"YAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"_

The crackled start slowly smoothed out as everyone instinctively tuned themselves like a clumsy choir of kindergarten children. The note was loud, harsh and not too pleasing to the ear but it resounded through the night as powerfully as it did through Nicholas' heart. The cold air was more noticeable now as his cheeks started to burn. His lungs ached for air and he could feel something at the base of his chest straining to push out all of his breath. Everyone was grinning as they screamed, finding the whole ritual immensely amusing and Demoman had already stopped, not having enough strength after the first ten seconds. Just as Nicholas was about to drop out himself, the boy swung his bottle of soda out forwards and took in another breath. Everyone quickly followed suit.

**"SEEEEEEEEENGGGGGGGGG!"**

It was much shorter, but with much more power and finality than the previous note; and immediately, the whole group erupted into laughter as they downed their drinks. Nicholas chuckled, giddy from the lack of air and the ridiculousness of teaching them how to "yam seng". He took a sip to sooth his aching throat, the fizz burning his tongue.

"Wos fun, mate, we should do it more often," Sniper commented.

There was a round of nods from the ones who were still conscious and a loud snore of agreement from Demoman; apparently, the vocal exercise proved too tiring for the drunk explosives expert. Nicholas smiled a little at the attention.

"HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!" Soldier's hoarse voice suddenly bellowed.

"It's not Chinese New Year yet, sir," Nick corrected him with a laugh.

"Well, Private, I've never had one, so I'll make this RED TEAM'S CHINESE NEW YEAR!" he declared. It was obvious that he wasn't quite sober himself but the boy couldn't help but smile at the man's sentiments. "Do I make myself CLEAR?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" he saluted with less rigidity than before and a broad smile. "Hong dui de nong li xing nian!"

"EXACTLY!" he puffed his chest out proudly. "Hoo-dicky dubee-sing-ning!"

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><p>(AN: I hope I did Nicholas justice and I hoped everyone who read this all the way enjoyed it. ^^; I had a lot of fun writing this.

_Hong dui de nong li xing nian - _Mandarin. Literally translates to "Red Team's Lunar New Year" which has the same meaning as "Red Team's Chinese New Year".

_yam seng _- as explained, a toast used in large celebrations. It's Cantonese, I suddenly realised that after writing the whole thing. Mandarin-speaking people over here use it but I'm not too sure whether people from China use it as well or just shout "gan bei" when they toast. But "yam seng" is something very fun and nostalgic to me, so yeah, I kept it. ^^;

Most of this fic was inspired by a recent celebration and watching my family light fireworks and yeah... I figured Nicholas would find fireworks nostalgic too? xD Him being oriental like me. `_` lol. I jokes.

Don't forget to review! =D )


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